


New Beginnings

by xxlindseyxx



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Fluff, HP: EWE, No Smut, Post-Hogwarts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-09
Updated: 2018-04-09
Packaged: 2019-04-20 13:55:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14262456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxlindseyxx/pseuds/xxlindseyxx
Summary: Now that his probation has ended, Draco is given a court ordered position in the Department of the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures with none other than Hermione Granger as his supervisor.(Rated mature for sexual references and mild language)





	New Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys, I just wanted to quickly note that this is the first fic I've ever written, so if it's awful, I'm really sorry! Please let me know what you think in the comments and leave any advice you have for me.

June 1999

It was only 10 am and Hermione was already having a terrible day. She woke up late and had to cast a quick scourgify in place of her morning shower. She dressed quickly and raced to her fireplace to Floo into work. Once she was finally settled in her little office in the Department of the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, she breathed a sigh of relief, thinking the worst of her day had passed.

About an hour into her workday, she decided it was time for her morning coffee. She went down to the little café the ministry had recently added and ordered her favorite drink – a caramel cappuccino. She had just sat back down at her desk, raised the cappuccino to her lips, and spilled half of it down the front of her favorite blouse. Seconds later, there was a knock at her door.

“Just a second!” She cast her second scourgify of the day and invited the visitor in.  
“Harry, what a surprise! What can I do for you?” Harry, looking a little uneasy, moved farther into the office, making room for his companion – Draco Malfoy.  
“Granger,” Draco said in way of greeting, inclining his head to the brunette behind the desk.  
“Hermione, as you know, Draco has been under probation for the last year, atoning for his crimes during the war,” Harry started. “He has completed that probation, and the Ministry has given him a court ordered position in your department.”  
Hermione stared, brows furrowed, thinking there was no way that this was actually happening. How could they expect her to work with him, after all he had done?  
“I really don’t think he’d be a good fit here, Harry,” she explained. “My main project right now is the installation and protection of house elf rights. Don’t you remember how Dobby was treated by the Malfoy’s?”  
“Look, I understand your concerns but- “  
“Harry, if I may?” Draco interrupted, keeping his eyes on Hermione’s puzzled face. “I know we’ve never really got on, especially after how I treated you in school, but I’m not looking forward to this any more than you are. I can assure you, however, that I will take this position seriously. If you are not happy with my performance, you can go to the Wizengamot and request that I be moved into a new department, but Harry seemed to think that this was the best place for me.”  
Harry and Hermione exchanged a look, he was silently pleading with Hermione to give Draco a chance.  
“Fine,” Hermione huffed, “He can stay. But I won’t be happy about it.”

A few undetectable extension charms later, Harry and Draco were able to move his desk and chair into the already cramped office. Hermione spent the rest of the day explaining the ins and outs of the department and catching Draco up on the work she was currently doing. Five o’clock finally rolled around, the pair said their goodbyes, and parted ways.

September 1999  
Two months had gone by and Hermione found that Draco was a surprisingly pleasant partner to have around. He was always polite, and he had even apologized for his behavior during their time at Hogwarts. Draco learned how Hermione liked her tea, and Hermione quickly learned that Draco clicked his pen when he was deep in thought. Hermione rarely used a quill unless she was signing an official document, and Draco was intrigued by the little devices. He asked to borrow one and hadn’t used a quill since. 

Hermione and Draco usually ate lunch in the cafeteria, but today it was unusually crowded, so they took it back to their office. They were chatting about the recent bill they had presented to the Wizengamot when Dobby was brought up in conversation.

“You know, I was actually quite fond of Dobby,” Draco stated. “I always hated the way Father treated him, so sometimes I would call for him to do some mundane task for me to keep him away from Father. I remember one time I had him pack my trunk about five times the day before I was to leave for Hogwarts. Father was furious with me for keeping him occupied for so long.” Draco let out a soft a chuckle. “I was a little sad when Father told me Potter had freed him, but I liked him enough to know he was better off away from the Manor.”

Hermione looked at Draco for a long moment, not saying anything.

“What?” He asked nervously.  
“You just aren’t the person I expected you to be, that’s all,” she answered.  
“What did you expect? A raving lunatic who went about torturing house elves at age 11?”  
“Pretty much, yeah,” she replied with a hint of mirth in her voice.  
“Oh, very funny, Granger. Hilarious,” he deadpanned.  
“You know I’m teasing. Besides, you’ve shown extraordinary initiative with the house elf rights legislation we’ve been working on. I’m very pleased with your performance so far.”  
“Thanks, Granger. That really means a lot.” Draco smiled at her in a way that could almost be described as affectionate. She smiled back, a little confused, and the two finished their lunch in a thoughtful silence.

The next day started like any other for Hermione. She got out of bed, showered, dressed, and headed off to the Ministry. When she walked into her office, however, she was completely stunned. Sitting on her desk was the biggest bouquet of flowers she had ever seen. Standing next to her desk was Draco, holding a big red balloon that read ‘Happy Birthday Hermione!’

“It’s not my birthday already, is it?” She asked.  
“Well, is your birthday September 19th?” He countered.  
“Yes… Oh my gosh, I was so caught up in getting the new bill to the Wizengamot on time that I completely forgot about my birthday! Who even does that?”  
“Apparently you do,” Draco chuckled. “Although I can’t say I’m surprised. You care more about your work than anyone else I know.”  
“How did you know it was today?”  
“Potter mentioned it in one of our post-probationary period meetings. He invited me to come to dinner with everyone to celebrate.” Draco replied.  
Hermione put her face in her hands and groaned. “I completely forgot about the dinner, too! Of course, you should come with us, but you didn’t have to do all of this just for me,” she said, gesturing to the flowers and balloon.  
“You work hard, Granger, you deserve some appreciation. This is just my way of showing that I appreciate everything you’ve done,” he said with a shrug.  
She smiled warmly at him and pulled him into a hug. “Thank you, Draco. The flowers are beautiful.” She pulled back from the embrace and smiled at him once more. She placed a light kiss on his cheek, surprising both Draco and herself. Draco’s pale skin blushed pink as he sat down behind his desk, smiling slightly to himself. 

The day passed with more than a few people stopping in to wish Hermione a happy birthday. Harry came by a few hours after lunch to confirm the dinner plans and the guest list. He eyed the bouquet of flowers on Hermione’s desk and looked to Draco curiously. He just grinned and shrugged his shoulders. 

Hours later, Hermione was getting ready for the night out with her best friend. Ginny demanded that Hermione let her do the birthday girl’s hair and makeup, and Ginny is not the type of woman that you can argue with. Ginny was putting the final touches on Hermione’s makeup when she asked about the flowers sitting on her dresser.

“Oh, Draco got those for me. Aren’t they beautiful?” Hermione gushed to her friend.  
“Harry mentioned something about that… Why would Draco get you flowers?” Ginny asked curiously.  
“I wondered that myself. We’ve grown quite close over the few months we’ve worked together, but I never expected something like this to happen.” Hermione blushed, remembering the kiss from that morning.  
“Why are you blushing? What happened?” Ginny questioned.  
“It’s nothing, really.”  
“Oh, it’s definitely something and you’re definitely going to tell me.” Ginny insisted.  
“Okay fine. This morning when I saw the flowers, I may or may not have kissed Draco on the cheek while thanking him.” She replied in a rush.  
“WHAT?!” Ginny shrieked, staring incredulously at Hermione.  
“I don’t know what came over me, honestly! It just sort of happened. He looked so embarrassed afterward that I didn’t know what to say. We didn’t talk much the rest of the day.” Hermione groaned, feeling the earlier humiliation return.  
“You totally have a crush on Draco freaking Malfoy. And you didn’t even tell me!” Ginny refused to the change the subject, no matter how much Hermione hated it.  
“Oh my gosh, I do like him. What do I do, Ginny?” Hermione pleaded.  
“Go get dressed while I think of a plan. I only need, like, 5 minutes.” Ginny answered.

Hermione went to her closet and put on the dress she bought specifically for this occasion. It was a beautiful, soft pink A-line gown that fell right above her knees. The straps came up over her shoulders and crossed on her back. She wore a pair of white pumps and completed the look with a simple pearl necklace and matching bracelet. She stepped back and looked into the full-length mirror she kept in her closet. She really did look quite lovely. Ginny had surprisingly gone light on the makeup to complement her natural beauty. Her unruly hair was tied back in an elegant twisted chignon. Pleased with her appearance, she stepped out of the closet and approached Ginny.

“Well? What do you think?” Hermione asked, twirling around so Ginny could see her dress fully.  
“I think Malfoy is going to shit himself when he sees you.” She replied frankly.  
“Ginny! Language!” Hermione said somewhat sternly, but she was secretly pleased with Ginny’s assessment.  
“What? He will. Anyway, here’s the plan. You are going to sit next to Malfoy at dinner and I will sit across from you, so I can watch how he acts around you. We’ll talk after dinner to discuss our next move.” Hermione agreed, and the two women headed out to the restaurant. 

The place Hermione chose was one of her favorites – an upscale Italian restaurant on Diagon Alley with the best cheese ravioli in all of England. Hermione and Ginny were among the first to arrive, being beaten only by Harry. He greeted the girls with a kiss to their cheeks and led them to the reserved table. Hermione took the seat at the head of the table with Ginny to her right. The next guests to arrive were Neville and Luna, followed shortly by Ron and Lavender. Draco was the last to arrive and took the seat to Hermione’s left (Ginny had instructed everyone to leave the seat vacant, receiving many confused faces). The waiter approached and took everyone’s order, and then left the group to chat while they waited. Various conversations about work and upcoming plans were heard throughout the table. Draco turned to Hermione and smiled.

“You look exceptionally lovely tonight, Granger.”  
“Thank you, Draco. You do as well. But I have to ask, why must you always call me Granger? We’re friends, you can call me Hermione,” she replied with a small smile.  
“Hermione,” he said, testing out her given name. He found he quite liked the sound of it.  
Hermione blushed slightly. “Much better,” she said, still smiling. Ginny watched the exchange between the two and couldn’t help but smile along with the unlikely couple. She really did like to see Hermione happy.

The food finally arrived, and the table quieted while everyone ate. About halfway through the meal, Draco requested a bottle of the finest wine the restaurant had. Once the waiter had returned and poured everyone a glass, Ginny stood.

“I just wanted to take a second to thank everyone for coming out to celebrate Hermione’s birthday. It means a lot to me, and even more to her, I’m sure. And don’t forget, we’re still going to the new club on Diagon after dinner! Now, let’s all raise our glasses to the birthday girl!” Everyone raised their wine glasses and wished Hermione a happy birthday. Once everyone was settled again, the waiter returned with a slice of the most delicious looking chocolate cheesecake Hermione had ever seen. The staff sang Happy Birthday and Hermione blew out the single candle on top of the cheesecake. 

Everyone had finally finished eating and decided it was time to hit the club before it got too late. It was a short walk from the restaurant and they arrived in just ten minutes. Ginny took Hermione by the hand and drug her to the ladies’ room.

“He’s got it SO bad for you, ‘Mione,” Ginny said cheerfully once they’d entered the restroom.  
“But how could you tell? We didn’t really talk that much,” Hermione asked anxiously.  
“For starters, he barely took his eyes off you the whole time. And when he did, it was only a few seconds before they were right back where they started. And the looks he gave you, oh my gosh! I’ve never a man so captivated by anything in my entire life.”  
“I don’t know, Gin. I don’t want to do anything that would make working together difficult…”  
“Hermione Granger. When have I ever been wrong about a boy? Hmm?” Ginny asked sarcastically.  
“You’re right. What should I do now?” Hermione asked, a little more positive than before.  
“Oh, I don’t think you really have to do anything. I’ll think he’ll do all the work for you, to be honest,” Ginny replied thoughtfully, leading Hermione out of the bathroom.

The girls returned the group, who had moved to the bar. Harry bought the group the first round of shots and everyone quickly drank them before ordering their own drinks. After a few minutes, Ron and Lavender went to the dancefloor, followed closely by Harry and Ginny. Before losing sight of Hermione, Ginny turned around, gave her quick wink and nodded her head towards Draco, who was talking with the bartender. Hermione rolled her eyes and watched the bar’s other patrons enjoy the music. 

Draco turned to Hermione. “Are you enjoying your birthday?”  
“I am! I haven’t been out with my friends in ages, it’s nice to see everyone again,” Hermione replied enthusiastically.  
“So, um, would you like to dance?” Draco asked nervously.  
“Sure,” Hermione said, just as nervous.

Draco took her hand and led her to the dancefloor. It was awkward at first because neither person was really sure how to act. They stood a few inches apart, not touching, and danced to the music. Draco eventually garnered enough courage to put his hands on her hips and pull her closer to him. He took her hands and put them around his neck as the pair continued dancing. The longer they danced, the more confident they became. After a few songs, they decided to head back to the bar for another drink. Draco took her hand again and led her off the dancefloor. 

They ordered their drinks and sat talking for a minute. 

“Hey, Granger – I mean, Hermione. I’ve been thinking,” Draco paused.  
“About?” Hermione inquired.  
“Well, I’ve probably misread everything, and you can definitely tell me to bugger off, but I was wondering if you’d like to have dinner sometime. You know, just the two of us.” Draco finished uncertainly.  
“Like a date?” Hermione asked, trying to keep the hope out of her voice.  
“It doesn’t have to be, but I was kind of hoping it would be.” Draco replied with a shy smile.  
“I’d like that. I’d like that very much, Draco.” 

Hermione and Draco went back to the dancefloor, where Hermione saw Ginny. She caught the redhead’s eye and gave her a smile and a thumb’s up. Ginny grinned and gave her a look that said, ‘We’ll talk later.’ Hermione looked up to say something to Draco and noticed he was staring intently at something behind her. She turned and saw Daphne Greengrass approaching them. Daphne was in the same year as Hermione and her friends, but she was placed in Slytherin house. Hermione turned to face the girl as she approached. 

“Draco Malfoy???” Daphne said questioningly. “What on earth are you doing here?”  
“Hello, Daphne,” Draco replied tensely. He hadn’t moved his hand from Hermione’s back even though they had stopped dancing. Daphne noticed. “I’m here with friends celebrating Hermione’s birthday,” He finished, gesturing with his free hand at Hermione.  
“I see,” Daphne said tersely. “I didn’t realize you socialized with Mudbloods and blood traitors these days.”  
“Daphne…” Draco said in warning as he pulled Hermione closer to his side. “Don’t be hateful. I think you should go.”  
“But Draco, don’t you remember how much fun we used to have?” She said with a wink, turning to an uncomfortable Hermione. “Draco here is the best fuck I’ve ever had. Truly a god,” she said with a smirk.  
“Daphne, that was years ago, and it was clearly a mistake. Why don’t you go bother someone else?” Draco said angrily.  
“Fine,” she replied, clearly annoyed. “I wouldn’t want you now anyway. Especially after seeing you with the Mudblood.” She sneered at Hermione, stuck her nose in the air, and walked away.  
Draco turned to Hermione, ready to apologize, but the brunette was already turning away in search of Ginny.

Hermione finally found Ginny and told the girl she was going home. Ginny could tell Hermione was barely holding back tears and offered to go with her. She said goodbye to Harry and said she would explain later. The girls left the club and apparated back to Hermione’s flat.

Hermione’s tears broke free as soon as they landed in the dark flat. Ginny flicked her wand to turn on the lights and led Hermione to the couch. Hermione explained what happened in between bouts of crying.

“’Mione, he said it happened years ago, I’m sure he regrets it now,” Ginny said soothingly. “He’s changed a lot since then, you know that.”  
“I know, but it hurts to know that I’ll never be accepted, no matter how much I do for the wizarding world.”  
“I know it does, honey. But you have to realize that some people are just stubborn, and nothing will change their mind. Especially people that are jealous of you.” Hermione looked confused. “Oh, come on, Hermione. Why else would she have mentioned having sex with him if she wasn’t jealous? She saw him with you and saw an opportunity to be nasty.”  
“I guess...” Hermione conceded. “But that doesn’t make me feel any better.”  
“You’ll feel better tomorrow. Here, take this sobering potion and owl me tomorrow when you wake up, okay?” Ginny gave Hermione a tight hug and left for her own apartment.

Hermione awoke the next morning to her Floo chime ringing. She got up and walked to the fireplace to see Ginny’s face in the flames. 

“Finally! I thought you’d never get up. Let me through, I have something to tell you.” Hermione granted her access and Ginny stepped through.

“What’s so important that it couldn’t wait until after breakfast?” Hermione asked, yawning loudly.  
“Apparently after we left, Draco found Harry and asked if he knew where we went. Obviously, Harry knew something was wrong and figured it had to do with Draco, so he made Draco tell him what happened. After he explained everything, he told Harry that he desperately needed to talk to you and apologize. Harry thought you wouldn’t be up that conversation last night, so he told Draco to wait until today at least. You should be getting an owl soon, I hope.” 

Hermione put her face in her hands. “Ugh! Ginny, I really don’t want to have that conversation, especially after he asked me out last night. He’s probably changed his mind now.”  
“Excuse me? He asked you out? Why didn’t you tell me this last night?” Ginny demanded furiously.  
“Because I thought it didn’t matter! I thought he’d change his mind and I wanted to save myself from the embarrassment,” Hermione replied miserably.  
“Hermione, trust me. From what Harry told me, I highly doubt he is going to change his mind.”

The two girls sat talking and drinking coffee for about half an hour until there was another pecking at the window.

“Oh my god,” Hermione said, staring at the eagle owl outside her window. “Do you think that’s his?”  
“Only one way to find out.” Ginny walked to the window and let the owl inside. She fed him a treat as she removed the parchment from his leg. She held the note out to Hermione, who looked at it nervously before she took it. She opened it and began to read.

‘Hermione,

Could we meet sometime this afternoon? I really need to speak with you. Please.

Yours,  
Draco’  
“He wants to meet, Gin. What should I say?”  
“Say yes, you daft woman!”

Hermione quickly wrote a reply, telling Draco to meet her at her flat that afternoon. She attached it to the eagle owl still sitting in her windowsill.

“Okay, I’m gonna go now. Promise you’ll owl me when he leaves?” Ginny asked as she walked to the fireplace.  
“Of course, Gin. God, I’m so nervous.”  
“You’ll be fine, don’t worry. Talk to you later.” With that, she walked into the fireplace leaving Hermione alone again.

Hermione spent the hours leading up to Draco’s visit switching between reading and pacing. Although, if someone had asked what she just read, she wouldn’t be able to answer. Draco was due to arrive in about five minutes, Hermione took one last look in the mirror to make sure she didn’t look as bad as she felt. She had just settled back on the couch with her book in hand when her fireplace roared to life and Draco stepped through.

“Hello, Hermione,” Draco said, looking as awkward as she felt.  
“Hi, Draco. Want to sit?”  
“Sure. What are you reading?” He asked as he sat down next to her on the couch.  
“Wuthering Heights. It’s a muggle novel, one of my favorites,” She replied, looking at the worn cover of the book.  
“Believe it or not, I’ve actually read that one and I really enjoyed it.”  
“I’m impressed. Not many people appreciate this one as much as the other classics.” 

They sat in silence for a few moments before Draco spoke up.  
“Look, Hermione, I’m really sorry about what Daphne said. It’s my fault she was so hateful to you because I wasn’t very nice to her after we broke up.”  
“It’s okay-” she started to say before Draco interrupted her.  
“No, it’s really not, Hermione. I should’ve stopped her, or walked away, or done something other than make you stand there and listen to her talk about you like that. She caught me off guard and I wasn’t prepared. I’m sorry.” Draco hung his head, ashamed of his actions from the night before.  
“Draco, I don’t blame you,” she said, putting her hand over his. “You didn’t make her say those things, she said them because she wanted to. It’s not your fault. I was upset because I thought people would’ve stopped saying ‘Mudblood’ by now. But I was wrong.” Draco raised his head to look at her as she finished talking.  
“I was so worried that you were mad at me. I thought you’d never want to talk to me again.” He smiled, looking relieved.  
“Well, we do work together. The no talking thing would’ve made that difficult,” she replied with a playful smile.  
“And our date would’ve been a disaster, too. There probably wouldn’t be a second one,” he teased with a chuckle. 

He looked down and saw her hand was still resting on his. He shifted, interlacing their fingers. He looked back up at her with a smile. With his free hand, he reached up and brushed a piece of her curly hair behind her ear, resting his hand there. She leaned into his touch, and he found himself inching his face closer to hers. Closing her eyes, she could smell his cologne as he moved closer to her. When his lips finally met hers, it was unlike any kiss she had experienced. His lips were gentle, yet firm as they moved against hers. All too soon, he pulled back and rested his forehead on hers, keeping his eyes closed. 

“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that,” he said with a smile, opening his grey eyes to look into her brown ones.  
“I’m really glad you did,” she replied, smiling back at him.

They spent the next half hour making plans for the next weekend. Draco had to leave shortly after that for dinner with his parents. He said goodbye to Hermione, promising to owl her the next day. He gave her one last quick kiss and a smile before stepping into the fireplace and Flooing back to his apartment. 

Thinking back to the first day they had worked together, Hermione realized it wasn’t such a bad day after all. It was the start of something new that neither of them had seen coming. Hermione was nervous of course, but she also hadn’t been happier or more excited about something in a long time. She had been looking for something without even knowing it. Draco just might be that new something.

**Author's Note:**

> I really hope you liked it! If not, let me know what you didn't like (please be nice though, it is my first fic after all) and what I could do to improve my writing. Thanks for reading!


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